Trip Blog – 2014 June

One of the most touching days I’ve ever experienced in the Maasai Mara/Kenya happened to me last Sunday. Some of the team and I decided to join Jemimah and Nancy (who work at Basecamp with the BMB ladies) for worship at their local church near Basecamp. I had organized this beforehand because I wanted to establish a relationship with Nancy’s husband, William, who works with illiterate Maasai Pastor’s. The idea was to give them 10 Talking Bibles so he could spread the word of God to those that can’t read. I have to say I’ve never been to a “Full Gospel” church and knew it would be an experience I wouldn’t forget. There was an alter call, a lot of Hallelujahs & Amen’s, waving of hands, praying aloud and even speaking in tongues! I would like to think we are all...

Amongst teaching computers during the day, Suzanne also taught a class on Astronomy to the high school and primary students. We planned on looking at the stars later that night with the kids, but unfortunately it started raining heavily in the late afternoon and so there was no chance of that happening. We headed home just before dark and I knew it would be a difficult drive in the dark and rain. There is little to no light pollution so it’s so incredibly dark on the road, and when a car does come toward you on the two lane road it practically blinds you. At night there are a lot of drunks (they drink the equivalent to moonshine) out so even more so to be extra cautious since they like to walk in the road. So as we were just about to get to Eldama Ravine town...

As the days are marching on they are getting better and we are working out the kinks. Today I feel the 3 American teenagers really got it. Ironically enough it wasn’t teaching in the classroom when the light bulbs went on either. It was at the end of the day when we had some free time and was just about to leave for the day. Sumner got out his American football and started playing catch with the kids. I could hear so much laughter in the air. The girls were braiding Lindsay’s hair, the sun was setting, and Dominique and I just sat and watched while we drank tea. It was one of those wonderful moments that you didn’t want to end. The American kids were finally getting over their awkwardness. Finally they got it they and they were forming...

Today was a bit rough. It’s pretty normal in group dynamics to have a few tense moments and that was today. When we got home for the day it was dinnertime and eating in community wasn’t working so well. Some wanted to eat late, some early, some could care less what time. Anyway, a few heads butted but we were able to recognize that we have differences but all need to get along for the sake of the team. You can’t expect all these personalities to come together and not have a blip in the road. One thing about mission trips and traveling in a foreign country is you need to be flexible. Full stop. I’ll say it again. Be flexible, it makes life much easier.

Terrorism was on everyone’s mind today. There was attack on the Northern Kenyan coast and about 48 people died. Then there was another attack 15 people killed. It’s unsettling to say the least especially for the visitors. More so for the people back in the US that see it on the news. We heard conflicting causes of the incident but honestly it doesn’t matter what the cause was but that it happened and we need to continue to be vigilant. I truly feel safe in my area. I’m several hundred miles away from the sketchy areas. Something like that could happen in this area but from everyone I’ve talked to its highly unlikely at this time. We just have to remember to be cautious at all times and keep focused on the real reason we are...

To start our day we met with Roy Stover, Brian Talam – Chairman of EBCCK and Mr. Richard Keter – the manager and principal of EBCCK. We worked out a team schedule of what our objectives were for the next 10 days. Number one is executing the computer project and keeping it sustainable since we brought the laptops. The team will also be teaching Biology, Astronomy, and music. We have a lot of talent on our team and my goal is always to utilize their God gifts and natural talents. We decided that we will teach computers to the primary students in the morning and high school students in the late afternoon. During the between times we can do projects around the compound like harvesting the beans. George likes to do construction so he will be building...